Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, was yesterday tension soaked as schools, business premises and virtually all government offices were deserted following the ongoing inter-ethnic crisis which has now spilled into state capital.
The streets in Lafia town were virtually empty even during the regular 8am rush hour, leaving a few civil servants who went to the office rushing back to their homes at about 9am when news filtered into town of a faceoff between Kambari and Eggon ethnic groups in parts of the state capital.
Public schools in and around Lafia were deserted as no child was seen going to school while those in private schools, who were initially conveyed to school in school buses, were seen being returned to their various homes at about 10am.
LEADERSHIP reports that at about 9:30am, a group of Kambari youths in Lafia accosted a traveller from Barikin Abdullahi (BAD), stripped him naked and set him ablaze with his motorcycle, thereby setting the stage for a string of other security breaches that followed throughout the day.
Aggrieved Eggon youths immediately mobilized and launched a counter-offensive to avenge the killing of their tribesman which left one dead and seven others persons critically wounded, with most of them rushed to Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital (DASH) on motorcycles.
Shortly after, joint patrol teams arrived in the area to restore peace, but in the process, however, one person was said to have been hit by a stray bullet and later died from excessive bleeding before he could reach the hospital.
The unrelenting Kambari youths also set ablaze two houses belonging the national president of Eggon Youth Movement (EYM), Mr. Daniel Anyuabuga, at Shinge area at about 3pm.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP on phone Mr Anyuabuga said he was still at work when he was informed that his houses had been razed, confirming, however, that none of his family members was harmed.
Although the state governor, Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, visited the area at about the same time the torching was taking place, the popular Angbas Hospital was also burnt down after the patents were asked to evacuate the premises.
Houses belonging to Mrs Cecilia Azgaku, the principal of Government Secondary School (GSS), Atabula, and one Pastor A. Bello were also razed.
The ongoing crisis in the state, however, took a surprising and worrisome twist when the irate Kambari hoodlums set Methodist Church, Tudun Gwandara, ablaze, introducing a religious angle to the crisis which was hitherto solely seen as an ethnic conflict.
Confirming the incidence, the state police public relations officer (PPRO), DSP Ugochukwu Theodore, disclosed that, so far, 21 suspects had been arrested in connection with the unrest, adding that security men had been deployed to the trouble spots to stop further breakdown of law and order.
Leadership
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